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Vienna
#74 of 124
Europe

Vienna

Austria

Salary & Cost of Living

View purchasing power ranking

How do salaries and expenses in Vienna compare to San Francisco?

Purchasing Power Comparison

An engineer in Vienna is 50% worse off vs in San Francisco

This shows how far a software engineer's salary goes in Vienna compared to San Francisco, taking into account both salary differences and cost of living.

Median Salary
$74,339
-$198K (-73%) vs San Francisco
Based on 102 data points from levels.fyi
Net Salary
$51,666
-$121K (-70%) vs San Francisco
Tax Rate: 31%

Community Insights

New

Vienna is the ultimate "golden cage" for software engineers. It offers arguably the best infrastructure and stability in the world, trading high raw earning power for an stress-free, comfortable existence. While the salaries ($74k median) won't make you rich like in Zurich or San Francisco, the purchasing power remains strong due to lower rents and living costs. The city excels in safety, transport, and leisure, but fails in bureaucratic efficiency and social warmth. The tech scene is stable but conservative, favoring Java/C# enterprise shops over dynamic startups. It is a city that solves "life" problems (housing, health, safety) perfectly, leaving you to solve the social ones on your own.

Resident Sentiment

Conflicted but comfortable.

Most transplants admit they have a love-hate relationship with the city. They love the city itself—the affordable rent, the fact that everything works, and the beauty—but they often dislike the people interactions.

A common sentiment on Reddit is that making Austrian friends is notoriously difficult, forcing expats into "bubbles." However, very few want to leave because the quality of life is so high that moving anywhere else feels like a downgrade in living standards. The consensus is: "Come for the quality of life, stay because you can't afford this lifestyle anywhere else, but complain about the grumpiness daily."

Living Environment

Weather•Safety•Pollution•Events

A quick look at climate, safety, pollution, and tech community compared to San Francisco.

Rankings

Pollution Score

Top 2%

#2

of 124 cities

15.6/100

Current value (lower is better)

Safety Index

Top 20%

#25

of 124 cities

71.8/100

Current value

Community Events

Top 33%

#41

of 124 cities

9 events on luma

Current value

Housing Affordability

View affordability ranking

How affordable is housing for a software engineer in Vienna compared to San Francisco?

Avg. Property Price
$9,083 / m²
10% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed property prices on Numbeo

Salary Converter

Enter your annual gross salary (before taxes) to see what you would need to earn in Vienna to maintain the same standard of living.

$

Do you have kids?

Cost of Living
40% cheaper than San Francisco
View detailed cost breakdown on Numbeo

Top Paying Companies in Vienna

Bitpanda logo
Bitpanda
Dynatrace logo
Dynatrace
Raiffeisen Bank International logo
Raiffeisen Bank International

The Good

  • World-class Quality of Life: Consistently ranked #1 globally for livability, with excellent public infrastructure, clean streets, and high safety.
  • Affordable Housing Model: Strong tenant protections and the unique Genossenschaft (cooperative housing) system keep rents significantly lower than in London, Paris, or Amsterdam.
  • Superior Public Transport: The Wiener Linien annual pass costs only €365 (€1/day) for unlimited reliable travel across the entire city.
  • Work-Life Balance: Standard 38.5-hour work weeks, 25 days of paid vacation, and 13+ public holidays are the norm.
  • Clean Environment: Exceptional air quality (ranking #2 in pollution index) and abundant green spaces/parks within the city limits.
  • Safety: Ranked #25 globally for safety, making it one of the safest capitals in Europe, even at night.
  • Central Location: Ideally positioned for weekend trips to Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, or the Austrian Alps.

The Bad

  • Lower Tech Salaries: Pay is significantly lower than in Switzerland, the US, or even Munich/Berlin; maximizing net worth here is difficult.
  • Notorious Bureaucracy: The immigration authority MA35 is legendary for being slow, unresponsive, and difficult to deal with for non-EU permits.
  • Social Coldness: The "Wiener Grantler" (grumpy local) stereotype is real; locals can appear rude, reserved, or sarcastic to newcomers.
  • Language Barrier: While tech jobs may be in English, German is mandatory for social integration, dealing with government offices, and reading contracts.
  • Limited Startup Scene: The job market is dominated by legacy corporate roles (banking, insurance, public sector) rather than cutting-edge tech innovation.
  • High Taxes: Progressive tax rates are steep (median net income is significantly lower than gross), impacting high earners.
  • Smoking Culture: Unlike many other western cities, smoking is still relatively common in outdoor social spaces.

The Verdict

You'll love it if...

Families and stability-seekers.

If you want a safe place to raise children, hate commuting by car, and value free time over career climbing, Vienna is perfect. It is ideal for engineers who are willing to learn German to access a high-quality, slow-paced lifestyle where the government effectively subsidizes your comfort.

Skip it if...

Ambitious hustlers and social butterflies.

If your goal is to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), work on the bleeding edge of AI, or make friends instantly at a bar, you will be miserable here. The lower salary ceiling and the reserved, sometimes grumpy local culture will frustrate those who thrive on high energy, rapid growth, and outward friendliness.

Updated 11/29/2025

Weather4.3/10-51% vs San Francisco
Safety72+82%
Pollution16-68%
Events9-82%
4.3/10TechCities weather score vs 8.7/10 in San Francisco

0–10 composite (higher is better) combining temperature comfort, sunshine hours, rainy-day count, and humid days. See methodology for weighting and data sources.

Weather snapshot

Average High
14°C(vs 19°C in San Francisco)
Average Low
6°C(vs 12°C in San Francisco)
Sunshine Hours
2,048h/yr-1014h/yr(-33%)
Hottest Month High
25°C(vs 22°C in San Francisco)
Coldest Month Low
-3°C(vs 8°C in San Francisco)
Rainy Days
74/yr+26/yr(+53%)

Community & Quality

Vienna community pulse

Vienna has 9 Luma events listed.

82% fewer events than San Francisco.

Tax Rate

Middle of the pack

#57

of 124 cities

31%

Current value (lower is better)

Comfortable Weather

Middle of the pack

#64

of 124 cities

43/100 weather score

Current value

Cost of Living

Middle of the pack

#64

of 124 cities

54/100

Current value (lower is better)

Net Income

Middle of the pack

#65

of 124 cities

$51,666/yr

Current value

Purchasing Power

Middle of the pack

#74

of 124 cities

Home Affordability

Bottom 22%

#98

of 124 cities

≈14.1 yrs to buy 80m²

Current value

SWE Affordability
14.1 years
9.4 years longer than San Francisco
Muggy Days
3/yr(same as San Francisco)
Cloud Cover
50%(vs 34% in San Francisco)